The Not-So-Great Outdoors
by Samuraiko
Summary: A simple stroll in the garden for Helene the maid turns disastrous when she nearly has a close encounter with a skunk. And things only get worse when a certain animal-loving prince comes along... a fun rescue fic via Tumblr request.


Helene hummed softly to herself as she strolled through the royal gardens in search of Princess Adele. The princess had gone outside earlier to play with Shadow, the palace dog, but as it was nearly lunchtime, the maid had been sent to fetch the princess indoors.

"Princess Adele! Princess Adele! It's time for lunch! Prin-"

Helene stopped abruptly when she saw a small, furry, black and white creature standing in the middle of the path before her. For a moment, she stood there with her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide.

"Ummmmmmmm..."

Then she let out an absolutely bloodcurdling shriek.

The next moment, she realized she'd made an amazing discovery. Apparently, she could fly. She didn't know how she'd done it, but there was no other way she could imagine that she'd managed to climb the nearest tree without wings. So there she was, precariously perched on a branch and staring down at the skunk.

"Go away! Shoo! Shoo!" she scolded the skunk, who placidly sat down and stared up at her in the tree. "No, don't sit! I want you to go away!" She started to gesticulate at the skunk, hoping to startle it off, but then she realized that her hold on the branch would be even less secure, so she quickly changed her mind.

"Oh, dear! Ummmmm... help? Somebody?" she called out as loudly as she could, but there was no response, other than the skunk trundling even closer to the tree and circling the trunk.

"NO, NOT YOU!" she screeched. "PLEASE, SOMEBODY GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!"

Oblivious to her cries, the skunk sat down once again at the base of the tree.

With a frustrated cry, Helene let go of the branch just long enough to snatch some leaves off the branch and throw them at the skunk, but they just fluttered down around the animal, who seemed content to start munching on the leaves.

"I AM NOT TRYING TO FEED YOU!" she howled at the skunk, but the skunk ignored her and kept eating the leaves.

"Oh, this is ridiculous!" Helene wailed in dismay. "Why won't somebody come help me?!"

Then she heard footsteps coming down the path, and she called out, "Hello?! Can someone please help me?!"

A moment later, she blushed scarlet when she realized that the person approaching was Prince Kai. "Oh... errrr... ummmmm... Highness?"

Kai stopped in the middle of the path and looked around, unsure at first where the voice was coming from. Then he looked up, and saw the maid clinging desperately to a tree branch and the tree trunk. The normally stoic and stern prince's look of confusion would have been comical to Helene under other circumstances.

"Hello, Helene."

"Ummmm... yes. Good day, Highness. Ummmmm... could... could you please help me get down?"

"Sure."

As he came toward her, however, she suddenly remembered the skunk and shrieked, "NO, WAIT, HIGHNESS, LOOK OUT FOR THE-"

Too late. The skunk might not have minded the maid throwing leaves at it, but apparently the approach of the tall, lanky prince was not something it was willing to tolerate. It crouched down, tail straight up in the air like a brushy flagpole, and the next thing Kai and Helene knew, the air was thick with the rancid scent of skunk, and the skunk was dashing away into the nearest hedge.

Coughing and wheezing, Helene waved her hands in front of her face to try and dispel the smell, forgetting that she needed to hold onto the branch. With a startled squeal, she slipped off the branch and fell, but Kai was there to catch her.

"Oh-" she coughed and gagged. "Highness, thank-" More coughing and gagging. "Thank you so-"

Kai carefully carried her away from the skunk-perfumed tree and over to the nearest fountain. He sat down on the edge of the fountain, the maid in his lap, then he dipped his handkerchief into the clear water and gently dabbed at her face.

"Are you okay?" he asked in concern, trying unsuccessfully to stifle his own coughs and hacking.

"I'm fine," she gasped once she got her breath back. "Oh, Highness! I am so, so sorry! Oh, this is all my fault!"

Then she suddenly realized she was sitting on the prince's lap, with his arms around her, and she once again went completely red.

"Oh! Oh, my! Ummm... Highness?"

"Hmm?"

"I... I... I should really get up."

Scrambling out of his lap, she hastily fidgeted with her skirts, realizing that both of them now reeked of skunk, and that the laundress would NOT be happy about taking care of their clothes.

"I, um, I'll arrange to have one of the maids draw you a bath, prince. Ummm... please excuse me."

"Wait."

His soft voice stopped her in her tracks, and she turned back to him.

"Yes, Highness?"

"You're sure... you're all right? Not hurt?"

Disarmed as always by his kindness, the maid's expression softened and she gave him a reassuring smile and a curtsy. "I'm fine, Highness. And... and thank you for rescuing me."

Kai's eyes widened, then he gave her a very faint smile as he bowed slightly to her in return.

Then he got to his feet, however, and Helene's eyes went huge as the prince started toward the hedge.

"Highness, what in the world are you doing?!"

"It's fuzzy."

Completely ignoring her original plan to retreat to the palace, Helene dashed after him. "DON'T YOU DARE GO AFTER THAT SKUNK! HIGHNESS!"


End file.
